


Family Always Helps Family

by Mazzydoodle



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Baby HDL, Donald Duck Needs a Hug, Family Fluff, Fethry is also there, Grieving, Mental Breakdown, Parent Donald Duck, Sleep Deprivation, gladstone being a good cousin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:40:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29656290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mazzydoodle/pseuds/Mazzydoodle
Summary: After hearing the tragic news of their cousin Della, Gladstone and Fethry go to visit Donald and the three new born triplets. They expected things to be bad, but not this bad.
Comments: 11
Kudos: 54





	Family Always Helps Family

It had taken Gladstone a while to receive the news of his dear cousins departure, whether it was because everyone was too lost in their grief to talk about it or they simply didn't think he was important enough to be informed, but whatever the reason he refused to dwell on it, the reason was unimportant. All he knew was that right now he was needed and he was going to be there for his family. Gladstone couldn't help but turn his nose up at the surroundings as he walked along the pier in late afternoon. The smell of fish and sea water was not something he liked to surround himself with, nor tolerate for long. Why couldn't his cousin find his calling in life in being a manager of a 5star luxury resort instead of choosing the life of a sailor?

It didn't ease his mind either that the younger of the cousin group, who was walking beside him, seemed to enjoy the fresh salty air as he inhaled loudly and sighed with contentment. Fethry always loved the ocean just as much as their cousin did, but they never trusted him enough to take him on a sea voyage, meaning Gladstone usually had to look after him for that week to stop him from doing something mindless and stupid.

"Will you wipe that smile off your face. We're not here to have a good time or go fishing, we're here to support Donny" Gladstone reminded the other as the sight of a familiar boat started to make it's appearance as they reached the end of the doc.

Fethry apologised but the smile was still on his face, it did look a little sadder though. "I know that, it's just nice to be back by the sea again. Remember when we were kids and we used to take the old row boat out and you kept getting us lost" he chuckled to himself. Gladstone punched his arm and scowled, "That was you bird brain, I'm the one who guided us back to the shore using my luck. And don't bring things like that up, it might upset Don more then he probably already is and the last thing we need is to deal with one of his blow ups."

Fethry looked at the ground, unsure if he agreed with his cousin on this.

The two cousins boarded the boat, balancing themselves as the waves rocked them sightly. Gladstone much preferred his flippers on solid ground, but he would endure for family. He held up a closed fist and knocked on the door to the boat, he was surprised at how much he felt himself hesitate to do so however.

It had been by chance that he found out about Della and her untimely disappearance. He knew the babies would of hatched over a month ago, and as much as he had wanted to visit sooner his busy jet setting lifestyle had delayed the happy meeting. Also he hadn't viewed it as much of a priority, people had babies all the time, he didn't need to rush. So when he had won a free flight back to Duckburg it seemed only fitting that he call up uncle Scrooge and make a quick family reunion. It was Duckworth however that had informed him of what happened. How Della had taken a rocket for a test drive and got stuck in a cosmic storm, and that Donald had taken the eggs on the same night and moved into his boat and hadn't contacted them since. Gladstone didn't hesitate the ring Fethry and give him the devastating news. The hardest part was hearing how much his younger cousin cried on the phone. The both of them agreed to go together as soon as they could, hopefully they could sort out this feud with Scrooge at least, but without knowing the full story it was difficult to be sure if they could help. The visit was a surprise one too, so there was a small chance Donald wouldn't be home.

That was unlikely however as the sound of rushing footsteps echoed from the bottom of the boat, along with faint wails from what they assumed to be three infant boys. It wasn't the door they knocked on that was opened, but instead the trap door from the other side of the boat which lead to a small living space. The hatch was thrown open and on instinct Gladstone stood in front of Fethry to protect him from the rage that was before them.

Donald stood in front of them with his hands balled into fists, his face turned a bright red while a murderous scowl burned across his face.

"WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?!" He screamed, the crying of the babies growing more intense as he did. "I JUST FINALLY GOT THEM TO SLEEP!" he threw his face into his hands and Gladstone couldn't tell if he was screaming or crying at this point.

"Donny I'm so sorry, we just came by to see how you were" he explained, wondering if Donald had even registered who they were yet. Fethry didn't hesitate to step forward and place a hand on his cousins shoulder, a move most people would have found foolish when in the line of fire. But to his surprise Donald didn't lash out again, instead he counted to ten and took a deep meditative breath. The red in his face faded and he seemed to be somewhat calm, for him anyway. He didn't say anything before running back through the hatch on his boat, presumably to tend to the crying children. He didn't close the door after himself so they assumed he expected them to follow after.

Gladstone went first and left Fethry to close the door after them, but part of him wished they had stayed outside. The boat was a mess. Everything looked out of place and unclean. Dishes were piled, baby clothes were everywhere, several piles of bagged up trash laid around on the floor along with trash that wasn't bagged yet. The smell alone made Gladstone wish he was walking through the fish market again. He looked over and saw Fethry looking the same as him, both feeling uncomfortable by the surroundings. Donald was always a typical messy guy but it was never this bad.

They both pushed the piles of (thankfully) unused diapers off from the booth chair and slid along behind the table, Fethry accidentally sitting on a wet blanket as he did. Hopefully it was just water.

Donald came back into the kitchen room, fumbling over the mess he had created but careful as to not hurt one of the three babies that he carried in his arms. Gladstone felt a chill run down his spine at the high pitch screaming that stabbed his ears, Fethry was less subtle as he pulled his hat over his ears while making a face. Donald placed the triplets into a crib that was next to the table, struggling so much as they were all too young to hold up their own heads. The sight was almost pitiful as he pleaded with the babies to stop crying and go back to sleep while rocking the crib gently.

It was this point Gladstone and Fethry noticed that it wasn't just the boat that was a mess, but Donald looked worse then they had ever seen him. He had lost an alarming amount of weight and his feathers were disheveled and unkempt, his hair having grown longer then he normally liked it. While he was known for wearing his blue sailor uniform, he instead wore a dark blue jumper that had stains and small holes in it. It wasn't hard for them to see and smell the pit stains from where they sat and they couldn't help but question when the last time he took a shower was. The worst thing Gladstone noticed however? The deep black bags under his cousins bloodshot eyes.

"Gee cuz, you really don't look good" he commented, "when was the last time you got any sleep?"

Due to the babies still crying it took Donald a bit longer to respond then usual. "I don't know, what day is it?" he asked breathlessly.

"It's Thursday."

"Then Monday" he said while still keeping his eyes on the children as he gently rubbed their faces soothingly to calm them. It seemed to be working.

"You haven't slept in three days?" Fethry gasped, "Surely they can't be that bad?"

The angry stares he got from his two older cousins were enough to shut him up. And, as if to prove a point, one of the triplets decided to test out the strength of his lungs with a high pitch shrill that woke up his brothers, all who quickly joined in.

"No no no no no" Donald panicked, picking up the child and bouncing him in his arms to settle him. It was easy to see from the way he moved just how much he was shaking, fighting back his own exhaustion to care for these babies. Fethry and Gladstone both looked at each other before getting up and going over to the children who were still fussing, wanting the same attention their brother was getting.

"Hey little fella, what's all the noise about huh?" Gladstone asked while flashing his lucky winning smile. Imminently the baby wearing a green onesie started to smile, reaching up and grabbing his uncles finger in his tiny hand. "So which ones this?"

Donald wasn't proud, but he had to look down at his hand where he had written the names along with the corresponding colours he used to tell them apart. "That one is Louie. The one Fethry has is Huey and this one is Dewy" he answered, adjusting the baby is his arms as he still refused to settle. Fethry seemed to be in a trance as he stared into the eyes of the baby he held, they were so big and filled with curiosity and wonder. It almost brought his to tears as little Huey reached out his hands and held onto his beak, smiling and cooing as he felt hairs on his beak. "Hey how come this little Donald is wearing a hat?" he asked, already forgetting the boys name. He reached up and took the hat off the babies head, much to Donald's horror. "No don't!" he cried out, but it was too late, Huey started bawling his eyes out as soon as the cold air hit his exposed head.

Donald almost threw Dewy in Gladstone's arms, an action he did not appreciate as he was already holding one baby, and that was enough. Donald snatched Huey from his cousin, quickly putting the hat back on and doing his best to shush the baby to stop the crying. "I don't know why, b-but he goes crazy if he doesn't have his hat on. I-I can't even wash his head without him going ballistic on me and upsetting his brothers" he explained, they easily picked up the stress in his already hard to understand voice.

"I'm sorry Donald, I didn't mean to upset him. Let me hold him again, please, you look like you need to sit down" Fethry said with concern.

"He's not wrong D-money, you look exhausted."

"I can't, I need to get the boys settled and... wait... How did you...?" Donald stared in disbelief at the two babies that Gladstone held slept peacefully in his arms. The goose gave a small shrug "Guess I got that lucky touch" he boasted.

It was that very moment that broke Donald. He gave Huey back to Fethry, sat down at the table and slammed down his head loud enough for it to cause a reverb, and let out a not so muffled scream of frustration. "I can't do anything right! I'm the worst parent in the world!" he cried.

Gladstone placed the two sleeping babies in their crib before walking over to his cousin, Fethry stayed with Huey as the baby was only just starting to settle again. "Donny you're being ridiculous, you're doing a great job" he tried to reassure and placed a hand on his shoulder, but he pushed aside as Donald stood up and started to pace around chaotically. "Look at this place! Look at me! I-I can't do this!" he held his hands over his ears and shook his head.

Gladstone went silent, knowing he'd have to be very careful of what he said next. Last thing he wanted was to get Donald more riled up and disturb the babies again now that they were finally asleep.

"Don you're being too hard on yourself. Every parent goes through this to begin with, you just gotta give yourself time to find the groove."

"No you don't get it!!" Donald snapped, "If it was one baby then I could deal with it. The crying, the fussing, the eating, the diapers, the constant need for attention, I-I could manage it. But there's three of them. THREE!! It never ever stops. All day and night at least one of them is crying, they never stay quiet, they never sleep. I tried to separate them so they don't wake each other but then they just cry more because they're separated. They need their diapers changed like seven times a day! EACH!! I can't even feed them properly. They take so long to drink a bottle and I have to do it one at a time while the other two scream because their hungry, and by the time I get to them the milk is cold and they have to wait longer while I heat it up and then I feel awful because the last one to get fed is starving, and when he finishes the first baby is hungry again, and the second baby needs changing, then the third one cried because he needs burping, and then the first one needs changing, then the second one is hungry and then it all just repeats itself again and again and again..." Donald laughed with delusion before beginning to hyperventilate, the panic setting in as he suddenly realised that at twenty five this was his life now.

Gladstone grabbed his shoulders trying to break him out of his rambles. "Okay okay calm down, just breathe, everything is going to be okay. We're here to help you, just tell us what you need" he reassured, but Donald didn't look like he even registered what was said. He kept his hands on the side of his heads and trembled with every breath he took. 

Fethry placed Huey with his sleeping brothers and walked towards to the kitchen. "How about I make us all some coffee huh? I'll make it the way Della used to have it" he offered before grabbing the kettle.

Gladstone could have slapped his cousin if he wasn't preoccupied with Donald. 

Upon hearing that name, Donald's face turned to something indistinguishable. He couldn't tell if he was angry or sad or ready to descend into madness. What was greatly confusing however, was the sudden large smile that tore its way across Donald's face, so forced and out of place.

"Coffee! Yes of course, I forgot to offer you drinks" he laughed, running to the stove and pushing Fethry back. The younger of the cousins looked to the one in green with confusion, but Gladstone didn't understand either so he merely shrugged. They both slide into the chairs once again and waited awkwardly as Donald fumbled and rushed around the kitchen. It was a lot more unsettling however when their drinks finally came, and they found that instead of coffee in their mugs, it was baby formula. "Uhh" Gladstone smiled politely, not knowing how to go about this. He watched wearily as Donald seemed to be making coffee in one of the baby bottles, and then without thinking about it, he put the kettle in the fridge, threw the bottle into the bin, and then held out his mug, poured the entirety of the coffee beans into it and in one quick motion gulped it down like there was nothing weird in what he was doing.

"Whoa okay let's not do that!" Gladstone gasped, running over and taking the mug out of his cousin's hand. What shocked him most was that Donald seemed confused at what he had done wrong and was happily chewing on his coffee. "Okay Don you're too tired. You need to relax and get some sleep."

"No I need to clean up the boat, i-it's such a mess. I-if child services come then they'll take the boys away" he argued, quickly picking up a nearby pile of clothes and folding them up, despite the fact they probably needed washing first. "Okay true, but do you think you can clean after you get some sleep?" Donald shook his head, "It's fine, I'll do it now." It didn't pass anyone's attention how much Donald's hand's shook as he cleaned.

Fethry stepped forward and took over with the folding, "It's okay, I'll do this while you go get some sleep" he offered, not giving the duck a chance to refuse.

"Oh... um... Well I need to wash the dishes" he exclaimed before going to the sink and filling it with water. He quickly grabbed at the large pile of dishes that were stacked up and scrubbed at them, but he either didn't realise or didn't care that he left the tap running and that it was starting to flood over the edge. Gladstone ran over and turned the tap off, pulling Donald away and out of whatever weird trance he seemed to be in. "Alright Donaldo are you gonna start telling us the truth about why you refuse to get some sleep or am I gonna have to put you in a headlock until you fess up like when we were kids."

He stayed quiet, face slowly lowering down to the floor. He was so tired, more then he could ever explain to anyone, but he just couldn't bring himself to try and sleep.

"Come on Donald, we're family. Family always takes care of family. You can tell us" Fethry reassured with a soft smile.

But the kindness of his words were not as infectious as he hoped. The duck folded his arms and held them tight while closing his eyes. He tried so hard, so very very hard, but it was pointless now. He was never good at self control, why was he even bothering at this point? He rubbed angrily at his tired eyes and tears began to fall.

"Don?"

"Family is nothing to me now" he said, walking over to the seats and sitting down near his sleeping babies. Gladstone and Fethry looked at him sadly before they joined him, sliding along the table so they could sit and listen to what he had to say.

"They betrayed me, both of them. I begged Della not to take that spaceship, I told her it was too risky and now she's dead! And it's all his fault!" he cried angrily.

It wasn't difficult for the two cousins to figure out who else Donald was referring to, and it was no secret that either of them were surprised.

The duck rubbed his eyes again, trying to compose himself as best he could, but he hadn't had anyone to talk to since this whole thing happened, and now all of the feelings he had bottled up and pushed away were starting to surface. "Scrooge didn't care about us, all he cared about was going on his next big adventure. That's why he loved Della, because she would jump into any danger he put us in and pretend it was just one big game. As soon as she said she wanted to go to space that was it, he didn't care that the boys were ready to hatch soon or that she needed to settle down and be a mother, he just wanted to do what he thought was exciting. He's selfish! He's the most selfish duck on the planet and so is she! Della never looked after the boys before they hatched, she always left it to me, she always made me stay behind to eggsit so she could get in that 'one last adventure' with Scrooge. And I always let her because I thought once they were hatched she'd realise she had to be responsible. But she didn't even make it to that point. She left me..." his voice broke into a sob, his memory plaguing him with torment as his anger wasn't even enough to dominate his loss. He buried his face into his hands, weeping as he continued.

"How could she do this to me? How could she leave me to raise her kids? She's the one whose supposed to be feeding them, changing them, putting them to sleep... not me! She chose to have these kids, I didn't! Yet I'm the one doing all the work as usual, and Scrooge is up in his mansion being waited on hand and foot and he hasn't even once tried to reach out to ask about them. I don't want the boys to know him, I don't want anything to do with him or adventures ever again! He made Della the way she is, I won't let that happen to the boys."

Gladstone sighed sadly, he was never good at empathy but it didn't stop him from trying. He placed his hand on his cousins arm and squeezed it tight, "It's okay Don, I get it, no one is going to try and make you go back to Uncle Scrooge if you don't want to. But you do need to get some help. I don't understand why you don't want to get some sleep though?"

Donald shook his head, looking completely hopeless. "I do, I want to sleep so badly, but I'm too scared to leave them by themselves or keep my eyes off them." He knew it was an irrational reason, but it was what it was. The sad part was that Gladstone and Fethry understood. Being related to the richest duck in the world, it had been more common then normal for one of them to get kidnapped and held at ransom when they were children. They had been trained to deal with that situation and the art of escape however, something Donald was sure normal families didn't have to deal with.

"Nothing is going to happen to these babies, you're the most protective person I know. Whenever we went on adventures you always kept us safe, you have a natural talent for it" Fethry tried to reassure. Gladstone agreed, "He's right D-money, Della obviously thought so too, she probably always left the eggs with you because she thought they were safer with you then her."

Donald wiped the fresh set of tears from his eyes.

Fethry looked over at the crib, his beak turning up into a smile as the sight of those precious little boys filled his heart. "What if we took one each?" he blurted out.

"What?" both Donald and Gladstone said at the same time, both of them unimpressed with the sudden suggestion.

"Della was our cousin, she's our family too. And family is always there for family. If me and Gladstone took a baby each off your hands then you won't struggle so much, we could share the work load in raising them" he explained.

"Woah woah woah wait a sec-" Gladstone sputtered, terrified of being taken up on the offer. Luckily though Donald shut the idea down.

"No! Fethry I appreciate the offer but I can't separate them" he turned to the crib, his eyes laying upon the three babies that snuggled against each other in their sleep. Dewy would occasionally kick out, his leg twitching as he was always restless. Huey's beak moved up and down slightly as if he was already trying to talk, or hold a conversation with someone in his sleep. Louie was already snoring, definitely more lazy then his brothers. Even though tears still ran down his face, Donald started to smile as he stared at his three precious boys. Each of them were perfect in their own way and already had such massive personalities. He wouldn't even know which child he could choose to keep, he loved them all so much equally. They all reminded him of Della so much. So much that it hurt.

"I could never let them be apart... because being separated from your twin is the worst thing that can happen to you" with those words he broke down. He was so angry with her, and in this moment he hated her so much for what she had done, for betraying and leaving him, because they had always been together, through thick and thin. They were the Duck Twins. The greatest adventurers of all time, where ever she went he went, and where he went she went. They had shared an egg at birth, a rare phenomenon to begin with, they even shared a room until he went abroad to college. And even then she called him every night, making sure they never missed a moment to talk. Whenever he wanted his own space, she was sure to quickly remind him that being a twin and spending time with her was better then anything else. They were always together... but now they're not. And he hated her for it. Because not has he only lost his sister, but he felt like part of himself was lost too, his other half torn away from him, and all he had left to fill the void where these three boys.

The feelings were too much for him to bear, and Gladstone could tell Donald had reached his limit. He scooted over to get closer to his cousin and pulled him into his shoulder, for once not minding that his expensive suit that he won in a lottery he didn't enter was getting wet. He looked over to see that Fethry was wiping his own eyes, doing his best not to make too much noise that would wake the children. The poor guy was still young, and he wore his heart on his sleeve. Seeing how distressed his suggestion had made their cousin, he quickly let the guilt take over him. Gladstone was less sympathetic, only able to deal with one grieving family member. So with a single look, he sent Fethry off to make them some real coffee this time.

"Listen Donny, I know we haven't always seen eye to eye on everything, but if you need someone to come watch the kids for a couple of hours or so then I'll try my best to get some time off and help out, and I'm sure Fethry will help as well, okay?... Don?" He pulled back, wondering why his cousin wasn't responding to him, but smiled softly when he heard the faint sound of snoring against his shoulder.

"I always said you were a lightweight" he laughed quietly, pushing himself away so he could climb out of the booth. Of course the table was bolted down. So after a bit of awkward maneuvering, he managed to stand up, lift his cousin from the table and carry him to his bedroom. The guy had earned a good night sleep, he thought to himself as he draped the blanket over Donald, knowing that for once he was going to be in a deep sleep. The least Gladstone and Fethry could do was stay for the night and watch the kids. How hard could it be anyway?


End file.
